


Whiskers in the Dark

by Ieznos



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Animal Transformation, Loki is a cat, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 02:06:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9268916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ieznos/pseuds/Ieznos
Summary: When Loki is stripped of his power and banished to Earth, he was already expecting the worst. What he wasn't expecting was to wake up in the body of a cat. When presented with a second chance to change his ways, will he take it?Meanwhile, Tony Stark is just looking for a friend, but when he finds a cat in the garbage instead he may get more than he bargained for..[Tags subject to change as I update]





	1. Purr-logue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SapphiraBlue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SapphiraBlue/gifts).



> This is my first multichapter fic, but I have every intention of finishing it. I'm sure this idea has been done before by someone but I plan to make it as original as possible! The prologue and first chapter are un-beta'd so apologies for any errors that you find!

"You have betrayed all of Asgard, and put the nine realms in danger! I thought keeping you here was for the best, but I can see now that there is no way to contain you as you are!" Odin slammed his scepter on the ground, causing Loki to feel a sense of dread he had previously dismissed. He had always thought his father- No, Odin, would never truly hurt him. Except here, tied and held in the repaired bifrost as the King of Asgard opened the bridge to who knows where, he was having doubts. 

 

"I now take from you your power," the green magic still stored inside Loki's body was sucked away, leaving him feeling drained. "Your title," _King. I'm supposed to be king._ "And cast you OUT!" An immeasurable force shoved Loki backwards, sucking him backwards into the bridge of light. 

 

The pain was immense, but he couldn't tell if it was from the blow or from the feeling of knowing he was truly hated by his...family. Even Thor hadn't done anything to stop his banishment; he must have truly given up on him as well. How pathetic.

 

As the forced journey continued, things seemed to be getting....bigger? He could feel his body contorting, the pressure exerted by the tunnel increasing and making it difficult to breathe. Why was the journey taking so long? Where was the Allfather sending him? He could hear something inside of himself crack before finally slamming into the ground on the other side of the bridge. Exhausted and more than upset, Loki barely had time to look at the tall tree line in front of him before his vision faded to black. 

 


	2. Cat-tastrophe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki figures out where he is, and is less than pleased.   
> The journey begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished this just in time for Blue's b-day so good on me. This chapter is un-beta'd so I apologize for any errors you see!

Consciousness slowly returned to Loki and with it so did the memories of the previous day. As his eyes blinked open, he attempted to stretch his sore arms and stand up but froze when he caught sight of the limb in front of his face. It was....furry? A four toed paw replaced where his hand should be, connected to his..arm? It was covered in black fur- wait, so is his other arm. 

 

Two paws. _No, four,_ he determined after glancing back at his legs, and - is that a tail? He reached up to touch his face but retracted his paw immediately when it came into contact with a muzzle instead of the expected nose. 

 

_What's happening?_

_Where am I?_

 

The (ex)god was horrified when he opened his mouth and only a tiny sounding mew came out. He was...what was he? A... _cat_? Why was he this? Struggling to his feet (paws), the former prince took a few wobbly steps towards the tree line, unused to this new body. Walking on all fours would take some getting used to. How demeaning. 

 

Alright. Whatever. He'll work with it. 

 

He seemed to be in a clearing in the middle of a patch of trees, which was good all things considered. Trees meant life, which was better than being sent to an empty rock to slowly die. Although that almost seemed like a better option considering the state he was in. 

 

It's at this time that Loki heard a noise through the trees. Multiple noises now that he focused on listening. Had his hearing gotten better?

 

It took longer than he would have liked to stumble out of the trees, but once he emerged he almost wished he'd stayed put. The source of the noises seemed to be....humans. So he was on Midgard then, perfect.

 

Dozens, no, hundreds of humans were running around in the large stretch of grass in front of him. Tossing a disc back and forth between them like they were getting some sort of joy out of it. How primitive. What kind of gathering was this? Didn't they have homes to be in? Scoffing to himself, the feline tried to determine where he could go to get out of here. Swiveling his head around he could see tall buildings on every side of the area, but no indication of which one he should start moving towards. 

 

He finally decided that one of the tallest buildings in the distance looked to be the most important, and that heading towards it was the best course of action. In the back of his mind, Loki couldn't help but think that the building looked familiar but surely no Midgardian architecture would resemble anything from Asgard? Unless all important buildings kept resemblances throughout the nine realms. Maybe this was for the best; No one would expect him to be a cat! He could work his way towards destroying these mortals and they would be none the wiser. The cat marched onward towards his new destination with a new feeling of satisfaction settling into his mind. 

 

However, about ten steps out of the cover of the tree line a tiny girl pointed at Loki with glee. "Kitty!" She squealed excitedly, beginning to run towards him. Feeling the fur along his spine stand up, the cat darted off away from the snotty child. But there were humans _everywhere_! Getting away from the girl caused him to enter the sights of a dog. Loud barking startled the feline into picking up the pace until he was running at full speed away from the drooling mutt. He could hear the humans behind him shouting something but Loki was too concerned with his own life to pay attention. 

 

Skidding to a stop in front of another group of humans sitting on the grass, Loki veered right and disappeared back into the cover of foliage. Panting and scrunched up under a bush, things seemed to come more into focus. There would be no shrouding himself in this form, he had no magic left to use. No way of fighting - the claws would only do minimal damage and his mouth was too small to bite much - either, his life was suddenly so...fragile.  

 

He'd make due. Slinking his way over to the nearest tree trunk, the feline hunkered down and prepared to wait. Eventually night would fall, the Midgardians would leave for their homes (hopefully), and then he could make his move. These humans would rue the day they looked down upon Loki Lauffeysson. 

 

*****

 

Hours passed before the humans slowly began to disperse and go back to their homes. The sun had long since gone from the sky before Loki felt confident that all of the mortals were gone. Re-emerging from his hiding spot, Loki streaked across the park once again, but this time with a different purpose. His black pelt provided enough cover in the night that he didn't feel as exposed running through the open. So at least there was that. 

 

It seemed to be taking ages to reach any buildings. Loki had long since stopped running due to exhaustion and the end of the grass still wasn't in sight! The only thing that kept him going was his irritation at being stuck on this planet and the thought that moving forward would help him either get away from it or blow it up. 

 

Finally a gate began to show in the distance, and Loki quickly picked up speed again to reach it. As he approached the brick he noticed there was a fence blocking the main opening. _That must be why the humans stopped coming in._ Luckily the wrought iron fence had slats wide enough apart that his new body could squeeze out through them anyway. As he slunk through the opening and turned back to take one last look, he noticed a large sign reading ' **CENTRAL PARK'** is bold block letters. 

 

If he had just left 'Central Park' then at least he was likely in the middle of the city still. The heart was always the best place to strike. Eyeing the back of the large building he'd picked out before, Loki set off into the night, more determined than ever to set things right. 


	3. A Fur-miliar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter: Tony Stark

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by @SapphiraBlue 
> 
> I'm much happier with this chapter than I am with the last one, which might be why it got to be about twice the length oops 
> 
> This chapter is dedicated by everyone who's left Kudos and comments already! All the feedback has been really great and motivated me to finish this chapter super fast ;;

Tony Stark was not a lonely man. Everybody knew him; not only was he Iron Man, he also owned a company that spanned the entire globe. He was a genius with machines, a billionaire with money to burn, and people lined up just for the chance to talk to him. He got invitations to dozens of parties every night, he could go out and socialize whenever he wanted! Charismatic, debonair, dazzling, astounding, these were words one would use to describe Tony Stark, but never lonely.

 

He didn't sit alone in a lab and talk to himself and his bots 20 hours a day. He didn't get drunk by himself behind closed doors in order to numb his heartbreak over being dumped by his own team. He didn't cry every time he hung up the phone with Rhodey, who was in another state with his family and undergoing physical therapy. And he most certainly did not selfishly pray to whatever gods were out there to send him just one friend that could stay with him.

 

So when Pepper sent him a (strictly business) message to come into the office and schmooze some investors in a meeting, Tony most certainly jumped at the chance. He dressed his Sunday best and drove straight to Stark Tower, wearing his trademark sunglasses even when a gray, cloudy sky greeted him as he stepped outside. He parked his car and hustled right into the building, making a pit stop at the coffee stand inside since he was definitely not running late.

 

"Good morning, Mr. Stark." A feminine voice greeted him and he gulped down his first mouthful of the scalding brown liquid. Turning his head, he took in the sight of the young girl now standing next to him. She was about his height, blonde hair and blue eyes, the whole works. Tony couldn't recall ever seeing this girl before in his life, but it was entirely possible that he had forgotten. "No one's seen you come in for a while, some of the workers were starting to talk."

 

"Talk about what?" He asked, eyeing the girl curiously as he sipped his coffee.

 

"About you being too stressed, staying home alone just so you can finish your projects for Stark Industries; that doesn't seem very fair." The nameless girl leaned into Tony's side ever so slightly, and shot him a shy smile. "You know, if you ever want some company, I'd be glad to come over and help you... relax." Oh no.

Tony plastered on a fake smile and placed a gentle hand on the girls shoulder, guiding her away from him. "Oh, honey, I'd take you out on the town if I didn't already have plans. I'm afraid I'm a busy man tonight."

 

The girl looked only mildly disappointed, giving Tony a pouty look. "Maybe next time then?" She asked, "I'm starting to feel like you don't care about me anymore, with all the times you've blown me off."

 

"Of course." he lied, looking down at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get to a meeting." Turning on his heel, Tony fled to the elevator and began his ascent to the upper floors.

 

....

 

Seriously, who was that?

 

****

 

Loki hated Earth. It was a miserable planet full of miserable people and miserable excuses for building structures. The buildings that had looked big even from a distance now loomed over him, seeming to touch the sky as he craned his head back to look at them. He had long since lost sight of the building he had been headed towards, view obscured by other skyscrapers and statues. He caught an occasional glimpse of it every once in a while, its structure seeming unique to all those around it the closer he got to it. It was a long and grueling process, and Loki grit his teeth as he thought that it better be worth it, as he darted across the street with a crowd of people while cars honked in every direction.

 

The sun rose higher in the sky as the cat made his way across the city. By the time noon rolled around, Loki came to the startling conclusion that he was starving. He hadn't eaten the entire time he had been on this wretched planet, and as he looked around he realized he didn't know _how_ to get any food here. If he had been in his normal form things would have been easier, but as this black furred beast it might as well have been impossible. Perhaps he could steal something if he played his cards right....

 

Stealthily, Loki approached a cart where a man was selling some sort of sausage to passerby. Crouching down behind a metal pole, he waited until the greasy man was handing the food to another human before making his move. Leaping up onto the cart, he aimed to bite the meat right out of the human's hand. Unfortunately, one of his front paws landed in a yellow substance, causing him to slip right off the side of the cart with a yowl, scratching the vendor's arm as he fell, in a futile attempt to catch himself.

 

The hurt human howled in pain, kicking Loki into the nearby alley. "Beat it, stupid cat!" he yelled angrily, glaring at the feline before going back to his business. The act had startled two other stray cats rooting through the garbage in the alley, both of them taking a few steps back as they eyed Loki warily. The god scoffed at them, picking himself up off of the concrete and, slightly limping with one leg covered in a muted yellow, went back out of the alley to continue on his way. He'd find another source of food while he walked; there was no way Loki would stoop to digging through the garbage.

 

It was hours before he reached his destination. Loki circled around to the front of the building, seeing 'STARK' spelled out towards the top. _Of course, this must be the building I used to open a portal for the Chitauri! Hopefully that means Stark is around here somewhere._ Searching for a back way in, Loki noticed an external vent several feet above one of the industrial sized dumpsters lining the side of the building. With a bit of effort, he managed to claw his way onto the lid of the container, after using some of the surrounding boxes as stepping stools.

 

He looked up and observed the remaining few feet between him and the first part of his plan. Climbing up the side of the building wouldn't be an option since the sides were too slick. Perhaps he could leap up to it, but what would he grab onto while he opened up the vent? A small squeaking noise interrupted his musings, and Loki saw a mouse poke its nose out of the lid of the dumpster next to his. Feeling his stomach growl, Loki instinctively dropped into a crouch and watched intently as the rodent crawled out of the trash, balancing on the edge of the container as it cleaned itself.

 

He was still starving, and since cats were supposed to eat mice, surely it would be okay if Loki ate one, right? The thought made him gag a little, but if he didn't eat something soon he wouldn't have enough energy to do anything. With a mighty leap, Loki flung himself across the dumpster lids towards the mouse. With a panicked squeak, the mouse tried to escape by jumping off the side, but Loki caught its tail under his paw as he landed. Before he could drag the mouse back, the lid under him gave an ominous creak, the old and flimsy plastic cracking slightly under the force of the landing. Several tense seconds passed, with Loki frozen as he waited for the plastic to settle once again. After nothing happened, he attempted to stand up again and gave a surprised screech as the lid gave out from under him, plummeting down to the bottom of the container.

 

Outside, the mouse landed on the concrete and scurried away to live another day, while Loki angrily found himself stuck. He pulled his back paw out of the cracks of the plastic lid, wincing slightly as the sharp points scratched his leg enough to draw some blood. The container was too tall for him to jump out; the garbage must have been emptied recently since there was barely any in it. The cat's tail began to lash back and forth angrily as Loki futilely attempted to claw his way up the side of the metal. _There has to be a way out of here,_ he thought desperately, _I can't die with the garbage!_

 

****

 

Tony heaved a sigh of relief as he exited the building that evening. The sun had begun to set, bathing the surrounding areas in a low orange light. He pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed towards his Audi R8 to drive back home to the empty compound. As he reached for the car handle, Tony heard a loud _thump_ behind him. Turning around, he determined the source of the noise was coming from around the side of the building. He cautiously approached the area, hoping that anyone actually dangerous wouldn't be making this much noise. Peeking around the corner, Tony was puzzled when he didn't see anything unusual, just a couple of trash cans lined up against the wall. The sound of metal being scratched drew his attention to the container that was closest to him. Curious, he approached the bin and looked over the side, where the lid seemed to be missing.

 

Inside, green eyes stared back at him. The black cat seemed frozen, front paws still stretched up the side of the container as high as they could go like it was trying to climb out, one of its legs coated in some kind of yellow paint, or maybe… mustard? Tony had never been a cat person, but something about this one seemed... special. Intelligence was sparking in those green eyes, like they were analyzing him in the same way he was analyzing them.

 

"Hey, little guy, you stuck down there?" Tony asked softly, reaching a hand down cautiously towards the small cat.

 

Inside, Loki was weighing his options. He recognized Stark – obviously - he wasn't blind! But this certainly wasn't anywhere in his plan, which he definitely had. Well, he had part of a plan at least, but Stark was not involved in it this early! However, as the human reached his hand down Loki thought that this could work anyway. Get Stark to take him home, show him to the other Avengers, and give him the resources he needed to _really_ get things rolling. There was only so much he could do on his own as a cat, after all. Putting on his most pitiful look, Loki let out a sweet meow as he reached his paw up towards Tony's hand. The container was too big for Tony to reach him all the way, but Loki's paw managed to just touch one of the human's fingers when his arm was stretched down as far as it could reach.

 

Tony let out a soft sigh as he touched the cat's paw, knowing that he'd have to get the poor thing out of there somehow. Bleeding hearts of the world unite. Pulling back, he flipped open the lid of the other half of the dumpster and put his hands on the sides. "Don't freak out now, but I'm coming in," was the only warning Loki got before Tony heaved himself over the side and landed heavily on the floor of the bin.

 

The human's nose wrinkled at the smell (he should try having a cat's nose!) as he crouched down to gently pick Loki up. Tony cradled the cat against his chest for a moment, noticing the speckles of blood on its back leg. He set the cat on the lid of the neighboring dumpster with a quick, "Don't run away yet," before pulling himself up and over the side once again. Once outside, Loki regarded the mortal with smug glee. Things seemed to finally be working in his favor.

 

After dusting off his pants, Tony scooped the black cat into his arms again, and headed back towards his car. "We're gonna go on a little trip to the vet," Tony whispered, hoping no one was around to see this. "Then you'll feel better soon." He unlocked and opened the passenger door on his Audi, plopping Loki into the seat before moving around to the driver's side. As Tony buckled his seatbelt, he looked over at the cat that was still silently sitting shotgun. After some deliberation, he reached over and buckled that seatbelt too, fixing the strap so it wasn't too tight against his furry companion. Safety first, after all. This is probably what pet owners were supposed to do, but Tony wouldn't really know since he'd had never had a pet before.

 

Starting up the car, Tony eased out of his parking spot and started his drive at a considerably lower speed than usual.

 

"Alright, F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell me where the best vet in the city is."


	4. Make the Meow-st of It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony brings Loki home to the Avengers compound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update took a while, but it's almost 2k so it's the longest chapter yet at least! Hopefully the next update won't take as long
> 
> I can't believe this fic has gotten over 1000 hits and 80 kudos already, that's insane guys! Thank you so much ;; 
> 
> I'll be doing my best to improve my writing so you all have something worth reading, but until then enjoy this chapter!

Staring down the different aisles of the pet store, Tony began to think that he was in over his head. When he dropped the cat off at the vet, he'd had to claim ownership of him since they didn't work on strays. It was a spur of the moment decision; Tony didn't stop to think that owning a cat would be a big commitment. Oh well, he'd just have to do the best he could or drop the little guy off at a no-kill shelter and that would be that. First things first, Spark needed a collar.

 

Spark.

 

The poor thing had glared at Tony from his perch on the granite counter of the vet's office. The cat was surprisingly well behaved for a stray, and didn't even attempt to claw at Tony's arm or try to run away. He just sat on the counter where Tony had put him down and watched as the genius stumbled over his words as the receptionist asked him questions and blurted out the dumbest name imaginable for his new pet when the woman asked for one.

 

Spark even watched him as an assistant came out and carried him into the back, looking over the man's arm at Tony until the door was shut between them. It would only be a few hours until Tony was able to go back and pick his cat up from the vet, but he had a lot of shopping to do before then. He'd already told FRIDAY to order the big things like cat towers and just have them shipped to the compound, but there are some things Spark would need by tonight.

 

There had to be at least 500 different cat collars all wrapped around a plastic pole, and Tony started sifting through them, trying to pick out one that wasn't completely awful. The bells jingled softly as Tony unfastened one of the collars from the display. It was dark yellow in color with bolts and screws printed on the sides in white; it was altogether hideous. Tony loved it.

 

After tossing a throwaway litter box and a few food cans into his basket (he'd be ordering better stuff later), Tony moved on to the nametag machine. After inputting his information, it popped out a silver star-shaped tag with 'SPARK' printed on one side and Tony's phone number on the other. He got a few curious looks as he was checking out; Tony Stark buying pet supplies was a strange thing to see. He ignored them as best he could and hastily made his way back to his car. If pictures of him buying cat food got leaked to the media he wouldn’t even know what to say. Did he tell the public he was getting a cat? He didn’t even know if he was keeping it yet!

 

"How's the search going, FRIDAY?" Tony asked once he was safely back in the privacy of his own car.

 

His watch lit up in response, the AI displaying the list of orders that had been made on his behalf. " _Everything you asked for should arrive at the compound by tomorrow, boss_."

 

"Perfect, thanks."

 

Before he could really go over the projected list, Tony's phone vibrated with a new message. It looked like Spark had been given a more or less clean bill of health and was ready to come home.

 

 

**

 

Loki sat inside of a small metal cage at the pet clinic. He had not enjoyed his treatment in the slightest, and this establishment would certainly be one of the first to go once he was restored back to his former self. He was willing to put up with a lot for the sake of getting his... _paws_ on the Avengers, but getting stuck with needles was certainly pushing it. His tail lashed in irritation, hitting the sides of his cage with a soft _whump_ each time.

 

Finally, just as Loki thought he would go mad from all of the barking and mewling going on around him, one of the staff opened the door and kneeled down to open his cage. "Looks like your owners back, Spark!" the woman cooed, as she scooped the black cat up into her arms. "Are you ready to go home? I bet you're excited!"

 

Loki could almost feel his soul leaving his body as he gave the woman a blank stare. He'd almost forgotten that Stark had decided to call him 'Spark' when he was brought here. Out of every possible name in existence he was stuck with Spark for his time in this feline body. Loki would've been a much better name to choose, in his own opinion.

 

The god was gently placed into a carrying cage before the same woman lifted it into the air and brought him out to the main lobby. Through the bars, Loki spotted Tony mindlessly tapping away at his phone while he waited. "He's all yours, Mr. Stark!" the woman announced, handing the carrier over. "Sorry we didn't have any better carriers, but I'm sure you can just buy a better one."

 

"This one's fine, sweetheart, thanks." Tony responded with a charming smile, jostling Loki a bit as he took hold of the carrier handle. Loki listened as the woman explained all that they did to him, mentioning that he seemed slightly malnourished from his life on the streets, and to feed him as soon as he got home. Stark seemed to be listening intently, nodding as the woman explained that wet food might be a better option to try since 'Spark didn't eat much of the dry we gave him'. _The hard pellets had been disgusting._ Tony gave a quick wave to the worker before exiting the clinic with his new cat in tow, buckling Loki back into the passenger seat of his car before starting the drive to the compound.

 

 

**

 

Tony stood in the middle of the main living room at the Avengers compound, Loki's cage sitting at his feet. From this position the cat couldn't see what was going on up there, but he was getting tired of sitting in this little box. _Let me out already, mortal!_ He mewed angrily, pawing at the bars in front of him. They'd been sitting here for the better half of ten minutes, and Stark was still tapping away at his phone by the sound of it.

 

"Alright, alright, I hear you!" The human responded to the noise, crouching down to poke at Loki's nose through the bars. "These pet sites say I'm supposed to let you get used to a new environment while you're still in your carrier but if you're going to start getting upset," he squeezed the two metal prongs together and pulled open the cage's door before crawling back a few steps. "Go explore, Sparkster."

 

Slowly, the black cat emerged from his confines, stretching his sore legs as he began to pace around. There didn't seem to be any other Avengers in the room, which was unfortunate, but Loki knew it was only a matter of time. Stark stayed crouched on the floor for a few moments, watching him, before moving over to a small pile of bags he'd left by the door. After rummaging around a bit he pulled out a strip of jingling cloth and some sort of box.

 

"I hope you know how to use this thing," Tony grumbled as he tore the lid off of the disposable litter box, placing it in one of the corners. He'd have it replaced by a much less...smelly one by tomorrow night hopefully so aesthetic placement wasn't a big concern. Loki's nose wrinkled as he walked over sniffed the new item, utterly offended. _Things don't get much worse than using the bathroom in an open box,_ he mused.

 

Loki was literally yanked out of his thoughts as Tony picked him up again and set him on the nearby coffee table. When he turned to face him, Stark took the opportunity to fasten the collar around Loki's neck, fixing the star shaped tag to rest against his chest. Looking down, Loki did his best to try and examine his new accessory with little success. He almost dislocated his neck from trying to bend it so far, earning an amused snort from Stark's direction. The soft jingling of the bell attached to his neck deterred the cat’s glare, but that didn't stop him from trying.

 

While Tony turned back to get the rest of his purchased items, Loki pawed at his new collar. It wasn't tight, but the item was unfamiliar and felt strange and scratchy on his neck. He looked up when he heard the sound of a can opening and watched as Tony plunked a plate of wet cat food down in front of him "Bon appetit!"

 

Loki sniffed warily at the squishy substance, the scent of raw fish hitting him strongly. _Disgusting._ He pushed the offending plate away with a paw while Tony watched with a frown. "Come on, that's the good stuff! Gourmet gold! Since when are alley cats picky?" A loud meow was the only response he got and Tony rolled his eyes, opening the fridge and riffling through the drawers. "You don't even know what cat food is, do you?”

_Meow._

 

“Well, sorry, I don't have any dead mice laying around…" After a few more seconds of grumbling, Tony pulled out a package of sandwich meat from the fridge.

 

After a bit of effort, a plate with torn up pieces of turkey was presented to Loki with a loud huff. "Here you go, your majesty King Spark."

 

 _That's more like it,_ Loki thought triumphantly, crouching down to eat his dinner and subsequently the first real meal he'd had in two days. As he chowed down, Tony busied himself by clearing everything breakable or sharp off of the counters to avoid any future messes.

 

"So... do I just... watch him all day?" Tony asked aloud, tilting his head up to acknowledge his AI.

 

" _Most sources say that house cats are able to care for themselves to an extent if left to their own devices as long as food and water are within reach_."

 

"Alright, perfect." Tony placed the uneaten cat food plate on the floor and a small bowl of water next to it. "Tell me if he needs anything, FRI, I need to work on some stuff downstairs."

 

" _Sir, I don't think_ -"

 

"Just for a few hours! I'll be back up to put him to bed, he needs to get used to this place anyway."

 

Loki watched as Stark boarded the elevator and disappeared from sight. He felt a pang of abandonment for a brief moment, but it was quickly dismissed. This is exactly what he wanted, to be alone and free to roam in the home of the Avengers. He'd have to find where the others were staying and their routines and go from there.

 

He'd have his revenge soon enough.


	5. Paw-don me, Sir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki realizes that being a cat means humans will act much differently around you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again beta'd by @SapphiraBlue idk what you were expecting 
> 
> Anyway this story is going nowhere fast but I just have a lot of things that need to be established and built from okay hang on
> 
> Also thank you for all the kudos and kind comments! <3

There were no Avengers here, or at least, there weren't any anywhere Loki could find them. He only had access to one floor, after all, and most of the rooms had shut doors, but he couldn't even hear anything happening! Why was it so.... quiet?

 

Loki had taken over the large couch in the common area, sitting on top of a pillow and watching the elevators for signs of Stark's return. Looking out the window, Loki watched the stars with a longing gaze. With nothing else to distract him, he couldn't help but think of... home.

 

It seemed like he'd been waiting for hours before he heard the elevator moving once again. With a soft ping, the doors parted to reveal a much more tired looking Tony Stark leaning against one of the sides. Loki quickly leapt off the couch and padded towards Tony, meowing angrily. _What took you so long?? I thought I was about to die of boredom! Who leaves a new pet alone this long!?_

 

"Hey little guy, ready for bed?" Tony cooed, picking up the cat once he stepped inside the elevator. "FRIDAY, up to the rooms please."

 

" _Of course_.”

 

Tony held the cat like a baby, scratching under his chin absently as the elevator ascended the short distance to the living spaces. Loki huffed quietly as he was pressed against Stark's chest, right next to a stain on his shirt that reeked of motor oil. It didn't take long for the human to exit the elevator and reach his room, pressing against the door to turn the handle without having to set Loki down. After pushing the door shut, Tony plopped Loki onto the foot of the bed and went to rummage through his drawers for something acceptable to use as pajamas besides his jeans.

 

Loki quickly surveyed the room, but there wasn't much to take in. The bed he was standing on, a side table with a lamp, a dresser, and a desk and chair pushed into one of the corners. He assumed the other two doors in the room led to a connecting bathroom and a closet, but the room mostly looked barren, almost unlived in.

 

There wasn't much time to dwell on these thoughts before Loki realized that Stark was _changing in front of him_. The feline felt almost scandalized as he watched the man change into a clean tank top and simply remove his jeans to sleep in his boxers. He almost didn't realize that Tony was doing this because Loki was a cat. _His_ cat at that, there would be no reason for him to think that a cat was watching him change. No normal cat would care about seeing a human naked, expect Loki wasn't a normal cat and he very much cared.

 

'Avoid seeing anyone naked' was added to Loki's mental list of 'things I must do in this body'.

 

"Night, Spark. Remind me to feed you in the morning." Stark yawned, flopping down onto his bed and bouncing Loki slightly with the force. The cat carefully picked his way up the bed, his paws sinking awkwardly into the plush blankets before settling on a pillow next to Stark's head. The man had sprawled over most of the bed and shoved his face into his pillow. He looked like a corpse; wasn't he at least going to get under the covers?

 

_You're a heathen,_ Loki mewed, settling a single paw on Tony's head. He only got a grumble as a reply.

 

_If you wake me up in the middle of the night by moving under the blankets I'm going to scratch you._

 

**

 

Tony did, in fact, wake Loki up halfway through the night when he groggily wrapped himself up in blankets for warmth.

 

Loki decided that scratching him would be too much effort.

 

**

 

The second time Loki was rudely awakened by Stark, it was at a slightly more reasonable hour of 7 a.m. as the man climbed out of bed and a 'Good morning, boss' resonated from the ceiling. Giving his legs a long stretch, Loki jumped off the bed as Tony pulled on a pair of sweatpants and headed towards the door.

 

_Food, mortal. Don't forget to feed me, you dolt,_ the tomcat mewed, following the still sleepy human down the corridor. Tony groggily acknowledged his cat; luckily he was already headed towards the kitchen for coffee anyway. The ride down to the communal floor was quiet, and Loki waited impatiently on the kitchen counter for Stark to make his coffee and then hurry up and feed him. Not being able to do anything for himself was getting highly irritating.

 

Once again, the trickster couldn't help but notice that the compound was completely silent. Surely one or more of Stark's teammates should be up by now? It seemed like an appropriate time for them to gather together for a meal, but the kitchen was silent save for the gurgling of the coffee machine as it poured a dark liquid into the mug resting beneath it. After gulping down most of the scalding coffee in record time, Tony presented another helping of deli meat to Loki.

 

"Replace any cat food orders with deli meat, FRIDAY."

 

" _Already done_."

 

"I love when you think ahead for me." Stark drawled, swallowing the last of the coffee in his cup and starting to brew another. To Loki it seemed surreal, crouched on the counter, having a quiet breakfast with one of his worst enemies. By the time he'd finished eating, Tony was watching him with interest.

 

"I guess you can come to the workshop with me, right?" He asked, "You're smart enough to not jump onto a table of knives, probably."

 

_I'm offended you think so little of me,_ Loki meowed in reply. If he had to spend another day sitting alone up here he'd go crazy.

 

"Let's go, then."

 

It was only slightly humiliating to follow Stark to his workshop like an over-attached pet, but Loki convinced himself that he was only doing more reconnaissance and didn't know the layout of the building yet. Once again there were no other humans in sight during their journey. This was getting almost bizarre. With the Avengers logo smack dab in multiple locations across the building and the presence of multiple bedrooms, it was extremely unlikely that this was Stark's personal home. Everything pointed to it being a base of operations for the entire team, yet none of the others were present. Perhaps they were all on some sort of mission, but if that were the case then why would they leave behind Iron Man?

 

There weren't many clues to go on. The workshop was a complete mess, but Loki supposed it was more of an organized chaos at the very least. Stark immediately seemed to sink into his element, bringing up glowing holo screens with dozens of different blueprints and equations displayed on them. There was nothing Loki needed to pay attention to there. However, if this really was Stark's workspace then surely he could find something of use, maybe even a weapon…

 

While Stark was distracted with his work, Loki took the opportunity to slink around the room, noting the robots rolling around so he didn't get run over. The machines were large, or large compared to himself at least, but they didn't seem to be much of a threat. As one bot began enthusiastically beeping at Tony, Loki continued his search and listened to their conversation with one ear.

 

_whirr click beep_

 

"Good morning to you too."

 

_tick beep tick click beep beep_

 

"Sounds interesting, tell me about it."

 

_blip blip whiiirrrrRRRRR tap tap_

"You don't say? What happened next?"

 

_bzzzt beep beep! crackle clunk arrrooooooOO_

 

"That's incredible, you should write a book."

 

As the machine happily twirled in circles, Loki hopped onto one of the lower levels on a plastic shelving unit. Pushing around loose parts, he was disappointed to see nothing of substance besides a hammer – which he couldn't even lift. Talk about history repeating itself. _I suppose this wouldn’t be the first time a hammer put a damper on my plans._

 

It was then that Loki spotted a familiar object leaning against a cabinet in the corner, the shield Captain America had always used to fight. What was it doing hidden away in the dark? As he jumped back down and got closer, Loki noticed scratch marks marring the shield’s surface. It had certainly seen better days, but judging by the thin layer of dust covering the object, it wasn't down here for repair.

 

Is it possible the Captain... died? Loki couldn't think of another reason for the shield to be abandoned down here, and it would explain his absence so far. If all of the Avengers _had_ perished in a battle it would explain why none of them were here, but something about the notion just didn't seem to sit right. If someone had actually managed to defeat the Avengers, then why would Stark be left as the only one alive? Right now, Loki seemed to have far too many questions and nowhere near as many answers.

 

Loki looked over at Tony, who had chosen that moment to check where his cat had wandered off to. Once he saw what the cat was standing next to his expression darkened, immediately throwing himself back into his work, even ignoring the bot next to him. The shield clearly wasn't holding any pleasant memories. Loki needed more information.

 

**

 

It took almost three hours before Loki had truly felt like he'd decently explored the entire workshop. There was little he found that was useful, and no other information on the missing Avengers besides blueprints of abandoned projects. A weapons search proved just as futile since the few things he did find were either non-operational, or too big for him to use. Stark had looked over at him every once in a while, seeing where the cat was in the room, but apparently didn't see him doing anything worth stopping. At one point it looked like the human was going to drink some kind of liquor, but after a glance in his direction he decided against it. Loki was about to go see how much he could get away with antagonizing Stark in this body when a ringing noise filled the air.

 

" _Ms. Potts is calling, boss_ ," Came from the voice in the ceiling.

 

"Oh boy," Tony quickly placed a device onto his ear to answer the call, leaving Loki with the disadvantage of hearing only one side of the conversation.

 

"Hey Pep... What? Ugh, why do teenagers have to post everything on the Internet!? ...Yeah, I got a cat! Well, I found a cat at least.... No..... Yes! ... Of course he's not in my workshop with me, that'd be stupid and dangerous since I clearly haven't had enough time to cat proof the area! ...... No, I am not lying! .... Pepper.... Pepper it's a cat.... I'm a great pet owner, just look at the bots! .... Fine, you can come over and see for yourself whenever you get back.... I'll be waiting.... bye."

 

Tossing the device he was using back onto the counter, Tony quickly made his way over to Loki and picked him up yet again.

 

"Alright Spark, looks like you gotta stay out of the labs for a while and I have a lot of work to do on making this place more feline friendly." Tony carried him all the way back to the elevator, giving him a little kiss on the head before gently placing him inside the metal box. "You can come back down here as soon as I'm done Spark-proofing the place, which probably shouldn't be that hard. Take him back up to the common floor, FRIDAY."

 

The doors shut with Stark on the other side, so it looked like Loki would be riding alone this time. He resentfully rubbed at the top of his head with a paw, not appreciating the lingering saliva on his fur from the kiss.

 

The problem of being stuck on the communal floor seemed to be a recurring issue, one that Loki was not happy with. He needed to find some other way around the compound if he was going to get the answers he wanted.

 

As the doors opened to reveal the same room he'd become familiar with yesterday, Loki eyed the electronic box in the corner, a 'TV' if he remembered correctly. Perhaps there was a way for him to gather more information, if he could just figure out how to get the thing to work...


	6. Think Paw-sitive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki starts to get his answers, and Tony tries to fix a problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet most of the people following this story want to skin me alive for taking almost a month to update but I felt like I was getting in a rut with this story and wanted to act on some new inspirations before this fic started going in circles. I actually wrote this chapter about 2 and a half times without being satisfied, and finally merged all my writings to create this final product! It may not be the best but I really wanted to get something out there so that we can move forward and I can get a fresh start on a new chapter!
> 
> If you're interested, I wrote an X-Men movie-verse oneshot for Valentine's Day and I started a new multichapter fic for the Young Avengers! Checking those out would be super cool of you if those are other Marvel things that you like
> 
> I'll be working on this fic and my other multichapter one pretty exclusively for a while, with maybe a few oneshots in between (I have a few ideas floating around) but I won't be taking such a long break from Lokitty again hopefully. 
> 
> Yada yada, beta'd and edited into coherency by @SapphiraBlue as per usual bc they're the best and make my writing not nearly as error ridden as it should be so thank u Blue boo

They'd fallen into a pattern. Every morning Tony would have coffee, feed Loki, and disappear to his lab for the rest of the day. Eventually he would resurface at night, though his timing was never consistent, and sometimes he'd show up long after the sun had set in the sky. Meanwhile, Loki would gather information by watching TV and messing around with anything Stark left in the room for him (including a litter box that was so high-tech he was almost scared to use it).

 

It had taken more than a bit of effort, but Loki finally learned exactly how to operate the TV, more or less. The remote was tricky since his paws were too big to hit any specific buttons, but if he bit down gently with his teeth he could usually hit the one he wanted. While at first he'd only been able to find useless channels with humans performing all sorts of different tasks for entertainment, he eventually stumbled upon a much more helpful News channel.

 

The Avengers didn't exist anymore. That was a hard bit of information to swallow.

 

Well, technically they did still exist, but the good Captain had whisked them all away to who knows where. It had something to do with a document called the 'Sokovia Accords' dividing the team, but even the ones that had originally signed the document had left later anyway. The humans on screen right now were more interested in discussing what would happen now then what had happened to lead up to this point. It was slightly frustrating, but at least he had some answers now.

 

Except those answers were really throwing a wrench into his plans. Or a hammer, really. How was he supposed to silently infiltrate the Avengers if there were no Avengers? It was just Stark here, and he wasn't even incredibly attentive. Not to mention that Loki couldn't even leave if he wanted to, he wasn't exactly able to open doors. So, it seemed he was stuck at the Avengers compound with only Iron Man to extort. What a waste.

 

**

 

Tony knew he was a terrible pet owner. As he cleaned up his workshop that afternoon he knew that leaving Spark alone so often just wasn't going to do. He might've been a shitty teammate but he'd be dammed if he let his own cat down too! He can't mess this up, he won't. He'd need someone to stay with Spark for at least part of the day; maybe he could hire a pet sitter. Except it would have to be someone he trusted to come into the Avengers compound and move around unmonitored...

 

"Hey, FRIDAY? Send a message to that Parker kid for me."

 

**

 

Stark was not a very attentive pet owner, leaving Loki on his own for most of the time. This had never particularly bothered him, especially after the orders of cat towers began to arrive at the compound and Loki could successfully climb to the highest point of the room to lounge and watch strange human documentaries on the habits of sea turtles. However, Tony was concerned enough to drop a bombshell on Loki after a week.

 

"You need someone to keep you company during the day, yeah? You getting lonely?" Tony asked while lying in bed. Loki had migrated from the pillow to sitting on Tony's chest at some point, where Tony absently stroked his back.

 

 _Not really,_ was the mewed response, but Tony obviously didn't understand.

 

"I got this kid, he's real nice, who's gonna come hang out with you for a few hours each day. That'll be fun, won't it?" Tony cooed.

 

Loki fixed him with the driest look he could manage to get his point across. Tony scoffed.

 

"It's just until I can fix up my workshop for you, I didn't know I'd have to pick up every spare screw laying around so you wouldn't eat it! I like having screws laying around, just so you know, it’s way more convenient. Then I have to fix up an exercise area so you don't get fat and shelves you can walk on, but I have to finish all of these projects for SI first and-"

 

A paw on his mouth shut Tony up.

 

\--

 

That night, Loki was awoken by being flung across the room. Luckily the force wasn't enough to send him into a wall, but he still landed ungracefully on the floor. Tony had bolted upright in bed, clutching at his chest. He couldn't seem to breathe, if the gasps for air were any indication.

 

Had Loki been choking him by lying on his chest? Surely he didn't weigh that much. What was happening?

 

" _It's 4:15 am on Saturday, March 4th. You are in your room at the Avengers compound. There have been no security breaches and everything is fine.”_

 

Loki cautiously padded closer to the human on the bed. A wave of different emotions swirled around in his head. He was... concerned? When did he start to care about the wellbeing of a human? No, he cared about himself. If Tony was dying then Loki would have nothing left to help him in this form, and he would surely starve on his own. That was it, nothing more. Loki repeated this to himself as he reached the edge of the bed, craning his neck back to look up at the human still sitting there.

 

Tony had pulled his knees up to rest his head on them, seeming to calm a bit at the sound of the robotic voice. After a few more minutes of watching, Loki steeled his resolve and leaped back up onto the bed, his collar making a slight noise as the bell jingled upon landing. The noise was enough to startle Tony though, his head snapping up to lock eyes with his cat.

 

Loki stayed quiet, watching the human who seemed shocked to see him despite all the time they’d spent living together. Tony gingerly reached out a hand, bumping his fingertips against Loki's nose.

 

"C'mere, Sparky," Tony whispered, reaching to scratch under Loki's furry chin. Satisfied that whatever had happened was over, the cat took a step closer and rubbed against Tony's hand, letting out a soft purr. Stupid natural reactions.

 

Once Loki had gotten close enough, Tony scooped him up and set him on his lap. He began to rhythmically stroke the cat’s back, up and down, up and down, up and down. It was more soothing than Loki had anticipated, and he lost track of time as he dozed in Tony's lap.

 

Eventually Stark got up, apparently starting the day early instead of going back to sleep. Things were different when they reached the common floor, however. Instead of dropping Loki off and retreating to his workshop, Tony flopped down on the couch with his cat and flipped through the TV channels to find something to watch.

 

It was unusual, but not entirely unwelcome. Loki settled on the back of the couch, lazily watching the animated movie about lions that Stark had put on the screen. The story was nice, but Loki still found himself rooting for Scar at the end. Just as the credits began to scroll, a ringing noise reverberated through the compound.

 

"We have a doorbell?" Tony asked absently, pulling himself up off the couch and towards the elevator. Loki stretched and made to follow him, but the doors were sliding shut before he even hit the ground. So instead he sat, and waited. After about 10 minutes of nothing, the human was finally back, with a plus one.

 

One enthusiastic Peter Parker showed up just in time to help Tony carry packages of cat supplies into the compound. He was the perfect fit for a cat sitter, and the kid needed an after school job anyway. He could even get some extra training in on some days, and it gave Tony a more valid excuse to slip him some extra money.

 

"So, where's Spark?" Peter asked after setting the large box down. Inside it was a new luxury cat tower that had been too heavy for Tony, but Peter seemed to lift it with no problem. Super strength must be nice.

 

"Take a look," Tony gestured to the cat sitting on the couch and watching TV. Peter seemed to stare at the scene for a moment, but Tony simply moved to sit next to his pet.

 

"He's usually pretty chill so I don't think you'll have any problems. You can go anywhere you want in the compound, but take him with you. The point of me paying you is so he doesn't have to be alone all the time. Also, he eats deli meat instead of cat food. That's okay, right?"

 

"Uhh, yeah, sure, totally, no problem," Peter clapped his hands together, surveying the rest of the room around him. It was only somewhat of a mess, with the remains of cardboard boxes jammed into a corner and various cat toys strung about the room. Most of them look untouched, but apparently Tony kept buying more. Peter side-eyed the box he just brought up, wondering where another cat tower was even going to fit.

 

He was brought out of his musing by a hand landing on his shoulder. At some point Tony had crossed the room to stand next to him.

 

"Well if you need anything just ask FRIDAY, and she'll get the message down to me, okay kid?"

 

"Don't worry about a thing, Mr. Stark, Spark and I are going to be best pals!" He smiled reassuringly at the older man as he left before turning to face the cat on the couch. Peter loved animals so this probably wouldn't be hard, especially if the cat was as nice as Tony said.

 

This was going to be an easy job. A piece of cake. A chance to prove himself to his hero. No issues here!

 

For the first five minutes, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me at crownedprincestark.tumblr.com for more updates on my writings, and feel free to send me asks about things you'd like to see in the story! 
> 
> Or just kick me in the ass and tell me to update because that's usually pretty effective


	7. Bad Cat-titude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now it is time for cat-son bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, tossing a new chapter out to my followers: Nutrients... 
> 
> This is a week late I'm sorry but trust me I have a plan 
> 
> I think

Loki did not like this new human. He decided this almost immediately as Peter scratched a little too roughly behind his ears, and squeezed a little too tightly during hugs. He was much too clingy, and never let Loki out of his sight. Ever. It might have been endearing to have someone worry over him so much if he wasn't already beyond irritated with his predicament of being stuck in a cat body for the foreseeable future.

 

One human to deal with was more than enough; he didn't need another. _Especially_ not a child.

 

"No, kitty, stay here!" Peter said, dragging the cat back over the couch once again. Loki could only stay in one place for so long before he started going crazy! Lying on the couch wasn't an issue, but being forced to stay there was starting to get on his nerves. If he was going to do anything, he was going to do it by choice, not by force. He would go wherever he pleased, thank you very much.

 

His tail lashed irritably behind him, and Loki hissed at the human as he went to go pet him again. No more being nice today. He might put up with Stark but this smaller human meant nothing to him. He wasn't an Avenger, and he had no sort of power in this world that Loki could use for his own gain.

 

"What's wrong?" The child asked, looking hurt at the fact that the cat had hissed at him. Disgusting.

 

Loki turned away to glare at a spot on the wall, not bothering to tuck his legs under his body and leaving his claws out, a very clear sign of ‘back the fuck off’.

 

 _‘Pet me again, see what happens,’_ Loki growled, the sound rumbling in his chest.

 

 

\--

 

It was a full two hours before Tony got his first interruption.

 

"Mr. Stark!!" Peter wailed, slamming into the glass door of Tony's workshop. Loki was right on his heels, hissing and spitting as he chased the younger human. Peter climbed up the wall to avoid the feline's wrath, and Tony quickly opened the door to let him in.

 

"What happened to a piece of cake?!" Tony asked, watching Peter crawl along the ceiling as his cat circled threateningly below him.

 

"He hates me!" Peter wailed, "I just wanted to pet him and he tried to shred my hand! I thought you said he was chill!"

 

The bots beeped confusedly at the sudden commotion, and Tony dragged a hand down his face. This cat was ruining his life.

 

 _‘He's a demon!’_ Loki hissed, swatting at the air below Peter. ‘ _He sticks to the walls! Get him out of here!’_

 

Tony stuck a hand out and called for his cat, watching as he hissed at Peter one more time before slowly moving over to sit at his feet.

 

After a bit of hesitation, Peter slowly lowered himself off of the ceiling, but kept his distance.

 

"What's wrong with him?" The boy asked, moving to stand behind DUM-E once the bot rolled close enough, beeping concernedly.

 

"I don't know, he's never acted like this before," Tony explained, crouching down to get a closer look at his cat. He poked the feline on the nose, "Be nice to Peter or I'll take you back to that dumpster, Spark. No mean cats allowed."

 

Loki huffed and rolled his eyes, turning away from Tony, ‘ _When he tries to kill you, I'm not even going to try and stop him now.’_

 

"I mean it, you better apologize!" Tony insisted.

 

_‘You better apologize! You brought a demon into our home!’_

 

"You know he can't understand you, right Mr. Stark?"

 

 _‘You're the one who can't understand! I'm not an idiot!’_ Loki snapped at the boy, earning a light bop on the head.

 

"No being mean! Do I need to buy a spray bottle for you or something?" Tony picked him up and brought him over to Peter, nudging DUM-E out of the way with his foot. He set him down in front of the boy and gave the cat a pointed look.

 

With a great show of effort, Loki retracted his claws and dragged himself over to Peter, who still looked apprehensive about the whole situation. He rubbed against the boy’s legs, winding around and between them like he watched other cats do in TV shows. It must have done the trick because Tony looked very satisfied.

 

Peter stayed stiff for the most part, but eventually gave in and lightly pet the cat. (What a sucker.)

 

"I'm sorry too, Spark," he apologized, gently stroking the black cat from head to tail.

 

Now that he didn’t fear for his life, Peter got a real look around the workshop. It was clean, pristine even, and excessively organized. He'd only been in here one other time, but things seemed drastically different.

 

"Uh, Mr. Stark, what exactly needs to be cat proofed here? This place looks amazing to me."

 

"Well, you know, tons of things," Tony stammered, quickly shuffling around the room. "I mean, just look at all of these wires just laying around! What if Spark bites through one and electrocutes himself?"

 

"Every house cat in the world has a home with wires in it! Phone chargers, TV cables, all that stuff. They don't just eat cords or anything usually."

 

"Well..." Tony swiveled around, sights locked on DUM-E where he had been pushed away, "My bots are dangerous too, they could roll right over Spark and crush the little guy! I still need to go in and fix their programming for that somehow."

 

"Cats love those automated vacuum cleaners, they jump up and sit on them all the time," Peter countered, "-and these guys sit pretty low to the ground so I don't think they'll be really rolling over him."

 

Tony sighed exasperatedly, raking a hand through his hair and looking back towards Peter. At some point he'd picked the cat back up again, and while Spark looked irritated, he wasn't lashing out again.

 

"It's just complicated, kid. I'm not done making this place safe yet. Now go back upstairs, I'm paying you to watch the cat, not me."

 

Hooking a chair around his ankle, Tony pulled the seat to him and plopped down, going back to work on whatever project he had pulled up. After a few beats of silence he suddenly found himself with a lap full of cat and Peter standing beside him.

 

"I don't know if this is an excuse to pay me or if you're really that worried over your pet, but I don't think you need a cat sitter."

 

"It's not safe down here, Peter," Tony insisted, even as he made no effort to remove the feline in his lap.

 

Next to him, Peter shrugged, "My senses will tell me if anything bad is about to happen. I can sit down here with you and keep you both company? I mean, I could help you build stuff too if you want, not that I'm asking or anything this job is great, but I can do heavy lifting and stuff, you know? I could like-"

 

"Peter."

 

"Right, sorry. I can, uh, I can go..."

 

Tony sighed and shook his head, "No, you're fine. I think keeping someone as strong as you around to help with my projects would be great, I won't have to worry about putting the suit on to put something into place."

 

He patted Peter on the arm, continuing to stare at the blue screen in front of him, "If you say any company secrets outside of this room I'll have to kill you though."

 

_‘Mrrow.’_

 

"W-what?"

 

"Kidding! Jeez kid, lighten up a little," Tony glanced up at him with a smirk, pushing himself up out of his seat and putting Loki on the table before walking away, "Now come over here and let's see what you can really do."

 

Peter spared a glance at the cat before following Tony towards one of the corners of the workshop. Loki watched intently, flexing his claws on the steel table below him.

 

 _‘Watch yourself, demon child,’_ He thought, ‘ _Or we'll really see what I can do in this form.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me @ crownedprincestark.tumblr.com for updates and such 
> 
> Or send any asks for ideas you want put into the story!


	8. Meta-fur-ically Speaking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ha ha remember when I used to update like bi-monthly? That was wild. 
> 
> Anyway I'm very sorry for taking so long on this new chapter, I don't really know what I'm doing. This is my most popular fic so I should pay more attention to it, it's not fair to you guys when I sink myself into new stuff instead oops 
> 
> I know my writing's not the best, but I like to think that I'm improving! Thank you guys for all the support, it really warms my heart to see people commenting about how they enjoy this fic so much 
> 
> If you wanna check out my other Marvel fic that I have going on that'd be cool...it's Young Avengers so it doesn't get nearly as much traffic as this one rip 
> 
> ALSO Spider-Man: Homecoming came out! Does this fic fit into the context of it? Uhhh...yeah kinda  
> Tell me what ya'll think
> 
> As usual, beta'd by @SapphiraBlue so thank them for fixing up this mess

It was on the fourth day that Loki decided he didn't care.

 

Tony had left in a hurry, only stopping to pet Loki on the head and tell him he'd be back as soon as possible. Except, that was four days ago and Tony still wasn't back; but Loki _definitely_ didn't care. He didn't look out of the many windows of the compound, waiting to see a familiar car drive up, or listen for the sound of the elevator moving. Instead he sat on the couch and went back to watching the news.

 

The demon boy hadn't been back since Tony left either, but instead a machine in the kitchen would whir to life twice a day to feed Loki a meal of shredded meat, and the woman's voice in the ceiling would tell him it was time to eat. He didn't mind the voice in the ceiling, mostly because there wasn't a body that could annoy him along with it. He'd heard the woman's voice talking to Tony before, but he didn't realize how helpful it could be for him. The voice could operate the elevator if he meowed loud enough, it could feed him and fill the water bowl, and it could even help him turn on the TV when the remote got shoved underneath the couch at one point.

 

The woman's voice was a robot, some sort of artificial intelligence, Loki knew that. However, he didn't know if the voice was smart enough to recognize who he was. Sitting alone in silence brought many unpleasant thoughts to the surface, many centering around being exposed as an enemy while in such a vulnerable state, but as Loki puttered around the empty common room on the fourth day he realized he didn't care. So what if this machine realized he wasn't any sort of pet? So what if Tony found out his true identity? What could possibly happen; the absent Avengers shoving him in a cage? How terrifying. His plans may be put on hold, but Loki was perfectly fine with waiting. If anything, those around him would probably let their guards down sooner since he was in this feline form.

 

So Loki sat, and he ate, and he slept, and he didn't think about Tony at all.

 

It wasn't until the seventh day that Loki began to get a bit antsy. He didn't miss Tony, he was just worried that he'd be stuck in the building forever. What happened to that child, anyway? He used to come over every few days, why wasn't he now? Loki refused to turn on the news, instead opting to spend his days watching menial programming and infomercials. He wasn't really paying attention.

 

On the eighth day he went looking, pawing at the elevator until the woman's voice would open it for him. Loki went up and down the compound all day, searching all the floors for any humans. They were all so dumb, maybe Tony had gotten lost? He could've fallen asleep in the wrong room, he seemed to do that a lot.

 

Except this time he hadn't, and all of the rooms were empty.

 

Ten days was too long. Something had happened, Loki could feel it in his fur. The TV mocked him, he knew once he turned it on it would be all over the news. If he kept the screen black at least he could pretend. Pretend he didn't have these...feelings, and that everything was still all right. Tony was just downstairs working, the child was with him, Loki wasn't _a cat_. Everything was just fine.

_"Reports are still saying that Tony Stark is in stable condition and will be able to leave the hospital this week, however no one has been able to get a statement from the injured Avenger. While damage from the battle was minimal, CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper Potts, assures the public that the company will be paying for the damages…"_

 

Loki had cracked on day twelve, crouched on the edge of an armrest and watching every news report on the incident that he could find. Apparently, Tony had left for a business meeting in Shanghai, where discussions had lasted for almost six days. Before he could head back home, an alert went out requesting Iron Man's assistance for a covert mission provided by the UN. Except something had gone wrong, because two days later a small town in Poland was missing a few buildings and Tony was in the hospital. He had recently been transferred back over to America and readmitted to a hospital in New York, but he was still unable to come home.

 

This was unacceptable. Loki did care and he hated it. He couldn't get out of this stupid building and Tony was hurt and he _cared_. What if he was dying? No one had gotten a statement from him, did that mean Tony was unable to speak? Where was the spider child, was he hurt too? Loki left his perch and paced around the room, only stopping to watch the grainy footage of Iron Man fighting some creature the news would replay every few hours.

 

Eventually Loki felt his legs burn with exhaustion, and he collapsed on a pillow on the floor, ignoring the woman's voice that tried to coax him into going to eat. He didn't want to eat bland, shredded meat right now; he was busy having a crisis. Caring for others would only cause Loki more issues, like the incessant itch of worry he felt right now. It was horrible and he hated it. He felt like he was going to throw up.

 

It had only been fifteen days when Tony came home, barely over two weeks. It shouldn't have been that big of a deal, but when Loki saw him walk in with a redheaded woman he couldn't help but race over.

 

_Are you still hurt? Where have you been? Why did you leave me alone? What did you think you were doing fighting that monster by yourself? Answer me!_

 

Of course, Tony couldn't understand a word he was saying, and just picked up the loudly meowing cat to hold.

 

"It seems like he really missed you," the woman commented, leaning over to pet Loki as well, "I guess you are a decent pet owner."

 

"Pepper, you wound me, I'm obviously the best pet owner."

 

The other woman, Pepper, stayed for a while, watching with amusement as Loki refused to be put down. Eventually he settled on climbing onto Tony's shoulders and sitting there so the human could have his hands free. It was a bit of a balancing act, but it was worth it. Loki was thankful for once that no one knew who he was, this would be too embarrassing to live down.

 

They ate dinner together, the three of them. Tony ordered take-out, and Loki managed to steal some noodles off of his plate. Pepper cooed over how cute he was as a cat, and scratched him under his chin. She let him steal food off of her plate as well, and Loki decided he liked her. Eventually she left, and Tony took Loki back down to the workshop so he could start working on the projects he'd left unfinished.

 

Loki was forced to get off of Tony's shoulders so he could properly work and instead sat at the top of the cat tower Tony had placed down there. He watched the human skitter around like usual, feeling an odd sense of peace that he had been missing these past two weeks. It looked like Tony was still limping slightly, but he was fine. He was going to be fine. Loki could make sure he didn't do something stupid and get himself hurt again.

 

It wasn't much longer before Loki was lulled to sleep by the now familiar hum of machinery and loud human music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you wanna follow me for updates or send me asks or prompts my tumblr is crownedprincestark.tumblr.com hmu


	9. Live in the Mew-ment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is giving Tony horrible ideas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what I'm doing and I'm sorry for being a horrible author but uhhhhh.....take this chapter I guess 
> 
> It's not the greatest or the longest but I'm really in a slump here 
> 
> Thanks for all the support guys, your kudos comments mean the world to me even if I don't reply to them all!

Peter was nervous whenever he went to the Avengers Compound. It was the home of heroes - it was the current home of Tony Stark. It was where he would train to be the best he could possibly be. It _also_ happened to be where a certain cat, that seemed to hate him, lived. Peter had thought that Spark and he had made peace after that first day of pet sitting for Mr. Stark, but every once in the while things would...happen.

 

Spark was always watching him. Lounging on worktables while Peter and Tony were together in the shop, staring through the glass in the training room when the two heroes put on their suits to go through exercises, or sitting on top of the fridge when Peter went to go get a snack in the kitchen. It was all incredibly unsettling.

 

Sometimes it was just a curious stare, like Spark was trying to understand what the humans were building, and other times it looked like the cat wanted to bite Peter's throat out.

 

Tony was completely oblivious, fawning over the cat any time he was close enough to pet. The man built dozens of little cat toys, wheels to run on, even a mini jungle gym! He had started to add shelving and beams for Spark to prowl around on too! Now Peter had to check his blind spots every time he came in the room, lest he get pounced on.

 

"You ever thought about signing Spark up for his own photo shoot?" Peter asked one day, "I can just see 'Worlds Most Spoiled Cat' right on the cover of Rolling Stones."

 

He was working with Tony in his workshop again today, trying to design a new kind of web-fluid that would be even harder for his enemies to cut through. He didn't want to go through what happened with the Vulture ever again.

 

"Ha ha, very funny," Tony responded, blindly chucking a greasy rag over towards the teen and listening to him cry out in disgust, "There's nothing wrong with a little pampering now and then."

 

 _A little?_ Peter thought, glancing over at the stacks of blueprints on Tony's desk. He knew at least half of them were for a new line of gadgets for pet owners, more specifically for cats. Ms. Potts had even stopped by earlier to pick up a few and give Tony a long look that seemed to translate to 'please stop'.

 

However, Peter wanted exactly the opposite. He'd never been allowed to have a pet, and the apartment Aunt May lived in would never allow them either. Even if Spark was a little rude, Peter was going to live out his childhood dreams if it killed him. Besides, it wasn't fair for _Spark_ to be the only spoiled animal out there.

 

"You ever thought about getting Spark a friend?"

 

 _That_ seemed to get Tony's attention. He turned dramatically in his swivel chair to face his apprentice, long lines of codes behind him completely forgotten.

 

"Another cat?"

 

Peter shrugged, "Yeah, why not? Or maybe you can get a dog this time, or a hamster with a super cool cage. I've always wanted one of those."

 

"Tell me more."

 

 

\--

 

Loki watched unhappily from his perch as Tony and Peter worked below him. It was bad enough when the child worked with Tony in his workshop, constantly handling possible weapons, but now the two were discussing getting another pet, as if Loki weren't enough for them!

 

He meowed unhappily, leaping down off his cat tower and slinking over to the two humans. He pawed insistently at Tony's leg until he was picked up and set on the table.

 

"How would you like that, buddy? Want a brother or sister to run around and play with?"

 

 _No, thanks, I've already had my fill of siblings,_ Loki thought with a growl.

 

"You know if you get another cat you should really think about getting Spark neutered."

 

Loki's head snapped back to stare at Peter in shock. How could he even _suggest_ such a horrid act!? How could Loki ever hope to become a God again if _that_ were to happen to him? He'd probably die of embarrassment within a week.

 

He protested loudly from where he was standing on the table, tail lashing behind him in frustration.

 

Tony seemed to take pity on him, running a hand down the feline's back in an effort to soothe him, "Nah, I can't do that to Spark. What if he wants a little kitty family some day?"

 

‘ _Or walk on two legs again some day!_ ’

 

"I guess it's fine as long as you don't let him run loose outside, or get another cat," Peter conceded, eyeing Spark warily. The last thing he wanted was to get back on bad terms with the little furball.

 

"No cats then, but I'll think about a guard dog for the compound."

 

"Since that's exactly what the Avengers were missing on their team."

 

\--

 

It had been two days since Peter planted the idea of adopting another animal into Tony's head, causing most of his free time to be taken up with searching the web for the perfect addition to his furry family. Spark seemed less than thrilled over the search, lounging in Tony's lap and covering up his tablet screen whenever he set it down for more than five seconds. It was infuriating and adorable all at once.

 

"Come on, if I get a dog you'll have someone to keep you company whenever I have to go away on business. That'll be nice, yeah?"

 

Spark leveled him with a dry look as Tony slipped his tablet back out from underneath a mountain of black fur and resumed his search. He had a feeling it was only a matter of time before his tablet screen was mysteriously smashed after being pushed off the counter one too many times.

 

There were just so many choices when it came to animals, how was he supposed to choose just one? All the sad looking dogs on shelter pages needed a home! Did he want a puppy or an older dog that was already trained? Should he rescue a senior dog that nobody else would take, even with the risk of losing them just a year later? Don't even get him started on _breeds_.

 

Did Tony even really want a dog in the first place? They tended to be more high maintenance than cats, especially if it's a bigger breed. Someone would have to walk it every day, and Tony didn't have that kind of time. He's never walked a dog before a day in his life. Maybe he should just open a pet sanctuary and be done with it.

 

A loud meow brought Tony out of his musings; it must be getting close to dinnertime. With a sigh he set his tablet down and made his way into the kitchen with Spark at his heels, searching the fridge for his latest delivery.

 

"Alright Sparky, I've got a little surprise for you,” Tony cooed as he pulled a black container off one of the shelves, "Dinner all the way from the Atlantic Ocean, can you believe it?"

 

It was just cooked salmon but by the gods Loki was tired of eating deli meat and dry chicken. He tore into his meal with vigor while Tony watched contemplatively.

 

"Maybe…I should take you for a walk," Tony pondered, already trying to remember what he did with that cat harness he ordered. It would be good practice for if he did get a dog. As long as he kept Spark on a leash it would be fine.

 

What's the worst that could happen if he took his cat for a walk?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up @ crownedprincestark.tumblr.com for more bad content!
> 
> Also feel free to send in asks about the story if you want


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